Visa Inc. has partnered with the international shipping platform and shopping facilitator, shipnow2.me, to enable Visa cardholders in the Middle East to shop with thousands of US e-tailers that do not ship internationally.
In conjunction with its parent company SkyPostal, an international and package service provider, shipnow2.me offers customers a physical tax-free US address, allowing non US residents a hassle-free solution to shopping online. From November 28 to December 12 – including Cyber Monday and Black Friday – shipnow2.me is offering a 50 percent discount on all shipments.
Karim Beg, Visa’s head of marketing in MENA, says in a press statement: “In line with our vision of accelerating e-commerce solutions, Visa is excited to partner with shipnow2.me to bring this service to customers in the GCC, Lebanon and Jordan. Through shipnow2.me, shoppers will now have access to US merchant sales and the best deals in the US, while enjoying the confidence of safe and secure transactions through the Visa network”.
However, many a times US e-tailers don’t accept or permit transaction on non-US cards. In this case, customers can avail the Personal Shopper feature that processes the purchase on their behalf. The users can fill in the shipnow2.me order form, informing the shopping facilitator of the details of their purchase, and the Personal Shopper feature makes the purchase for them with a minimal additional fee.
The portal claims that unlike other shipping platforms, there is no registration membership fee and a price comparison engine allows customers to search for the best price on what they are looking for. In addition, it processes returns free of cost, or at a very low cost depending on the weight of the product and the return policy of the merchant website. It also offers an international duties and shipping estimator, customs clearance and handling, free insurance of up to US $200 and an overall saving of up to 80 percent on international shipping costs.
A J Hernandez, CEO of SkyPostal, says in the same statement: “With its unique designated tax-free address, shipnow2.me exempts registered users from the 7 percent State sales tax; the State sales tax in the USA can be as high as 9.45 percent and with this unique address shipnow2.me customers pay 0 percent. All retailers are obliged under Federal Law to honour this unique Tax Free Address. The Tax Free address makes products available to Visa cardholders at even more highly desirable prices to customers in the Middle East”.
Shipnow2.me was founded in May 2008 and is headquartered in Florida. It is currently live in 23 markets worldwide and is available in the Middle Eastern countries both in English and Arabic.
